Farm safety issues in Old Order Anabaptist communities: unique aspects and innovative intervention strategies.

The Amish and other Old Order Anabaptists have been inseparably linked with agriculture since coming to America. However few efforts have been identified which analyze the issues involved with Old Order Anabaptist farm injuries or present best practices for addressing these problems. As part of an effort to develop culturally appropriate and effective injury prevention strategies for use within the Old Order Anabaptist community, this article identifies important cultural issues that should be considered in understanding and attempting to reduce farm injures in this population, summarizes statistics concerning farm-related fatalities among Old Order Anabaptists, and discusses methods which have been effectively used to address farm injuries within these communities. In the statistical analysis, 92 cases were identified that were classified as being work-related or occurring in a farm work-related setting during the period 1980 to 2000. Approximately 64% of the identified cases were children 15 years and under; and approximately 77% were male. Run-over incidents were the most frequent primary cause of the fatal injuries, while animal-related behavior was the most frequent secondary cause, reflecting agricultural practices that remain highly dependent upon the use of horses and mules. The authors believe evidence suggests that certain Old Order Anabaptist choices concerning farm safety issues may be directly related to their socio-religious beliefs, and that effective intervention strategies must also be sensitive to socio-religious beliefs.